Spanish verb conjugations
Most Spanish verbs conjugate the same way: -ar, -er and -ir verbs each have their own set of endings, and you drop the infinitive ending before adding them. The irregular ones are worth learning individually, and the three you meet first are ser, estar and ir — all three are irregular and all three are unavoidable.
- ser conjugationThe full conjugation of the Spanish verb ser: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, with the irregular forms and when to use ser instead of estar. Free, no sign-up.
- estar conjugationThe full conjugation of the Spanish verb estar: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, with the irregular forms and a clear guide to estar versus ser. Free, no sign-up.
- tener conjugationThe full conjugation of the Spanish verb tener: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, with the irregular forms and the expressions built on it. Free, no sign-up.
- hacer conjugationThe full conjugation of the Spanish verb hacer: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, with the irregular forms and what else 'hacer' is used for. Free, no sign-up.
- ir conjugationThe full conjugation of the Spanish verb ir: present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive and imperative, with the irregular forms and the difference between ir and ser. Free, no sign-up.
How Spanish verbs work
Spanish verbs come in three families, named for the infinitive ending: -ar (hablar), -er (comer) and -ir (vivir). Each family has its own endings for every tense, and the family is usually clear from the infinitive. The endings below are the ones you add after removing -ar, -er or -ir.
| Tense | -ar (hablar) | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | hablo, hablas, habla | como, comes, come | vivo, vives, vive |
| preterite | hablé, hablaste, habló | comí, comiste, comió | viví, viviste, vivió |
| imperfect | hablaba, hablabas, hablaba | comía, comías, comía | vivía, vivías, vivía |
| future | hablaré, hablarás, hablará | comeré, comerás, comerá | viviré, vivirás, vivirá |
| conditional | hablaría, hablarías, hablaría | comería, comerías, comería | viviría, vivirías, viviría |
| present subjunctive | hable, hables, hable | coma, comas, coma | viva, vivas, viva |
| imperfect subjunctive | hablara, hablaras, hablara | comiera, comieras, comiera | viviera, vivieras, viviera |
| gerund | hablando | comiendo | viviendo |
| participle | hablado | comido | vivido |
Four verbs do this irregularly and are worth learning as whole sets rather than as patterns: ser, estar, ir and haber. Their endings differ from the family they look like they belong to — ser is an -er verb but conjugates like an -ar one in the present, and ir is -ir in the infinitive but takes -er endings in the present.
Which tense to use
- Present — what is happening, what is true, and what you do. Hablo español (I speak Spanish).
- Preterite — one completed event, with a clear before and after. Hablé con ella (I spoke to her).
- Imperfect — ongoing or habitual in the past, the background of a story. Hablaba todos los días (I used to speak every day).
- Future — the simple future is also used for guesses and for polite statements about the present: ¿Vienes mañana? as 'are you coming tomorrow?' and 'are you coming?'
- Conditional — for hypotheticals and polite requests: Quisiera un café (I would like a coffee).
- Subjunctive — for wishes, doubts, emotions and polite requests. Quiero que vengas (I want you to come). The present and imperfect subjunctive cover almost everything you'll meet.
- Gerund — an ongoing action, and often the English -ing. Estoy hablandoff… is not used; say Estoy hablando (I'm speaking).
The verbs worth knowing first
Every verb page below gives the full set of forms, the irregular ones, and the places where Spanish does something English doesn't. Start with these five and the rest becomes pattern rather than memorisation.
How to actually keep these
Conjugation tables are the easiest thing in language learning to recognise and the hardest to produce. Knowing that hablé is the preterite of hablar is not the same as being able to say it without thinking. What closes that gap is meeting the same verbs again and again in text you'd read anyway, on the day you'd have forgotten them.
- Reading a word once is not remembering it. A verb you look up today is gone tomorrow. A verb that comes back to you — in a sentence you'd read anyway, on the day you'd have forgotten it — is yours.
- No streak, no guilt. Kin tracks one number: how many words are in reach today. It goes down honestly when you drift and comes back when you return.
Questions
How many verbs are irregular in Spanish?
Around 40 in everyday use, out of several thousand. The important ones are ser, estar, ir, haber, tener, hacer, poder, decir, poner, salir, venir and querer. The rest of the language is regular.
What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect?
The preterite is one completed event (llovió — it rained, once, and it's over). The imperfect is ongoing or habitual (llovía — it used to rain, or it was raining as something else happened). A single past action takes the preterite; the background takes the imperfect. Spanish speakers hear this distinction sharply, and English merges them.
Is the Spanish subjunctive really necessary?
You can get by for a long time without it, and then get caught out at exactly the wrong moment. It appears after querer que, esperar que, no saber que, after expressions of doubt and emotion, and in a few fixed phrases. The present and imperfect subjunctive cover nearly all of it. Learn the trigger words and the endings together.
Should I learn the nosotros form?
Yes, it turns out. It's the form used in instructions and in the phrase vamos (let's), and it's the one people need when they want to talk about a group. It's also the reason Spanish uses tú and usted rather than a single second-person form: vosotros is used in Spain for a group you know, and ustedes for a group you don't, which is the form used across most of Latin America.
Keep going
- Numbers in SpanishSpanish numbers from 0 to a million, with the rules that trip people up (veintiún, cien or ciento, quinientos), plus dates, telling the time, prices, phone numbers and ordinals. Free, no sign-up.
- How long does it really take to learn Spanish?Realistic numbers for how long it takes an English speaker to learn Spanish, level by level, from the Foreign Service Institute and CEFR estimates, and what actually makes the hours count.
- Spanish phrases for real situationsSpanish phrases grouped by the moment you need them, from ordering a coffee to meeting a partner's family, with pronunciation, a literal translation and what people actually mean. Spain and Latin America both covered.